


Fall from Grace

by jumyouboshi



Series: Fall from Grace [1]
Category: Future Card Buddyfight
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 10:06:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8620336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumyouboshi/pseuds/jumyouboshi
Summary: Tasuku’s dismissal from the Buddy Police shook his world. With Jack seized from him, Tasuku found himself completely alone in a society that he had detached himself from long ago. How could he not grasp desperately at the first and only hand that was extended to him?





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a re-imagining of what happened after Tasuku got fired from the Buddy Police all the way back in season 1. Because the stuff that happened in the anime was inconsistent as hell and my pea brain still hasn’t figured it out two years later. So I just wrote my own thing.
> 
> Shout out to Ena (@n4391) who helped me write some of Kyoya’s dialogue.
> 
> Enjoy!

When Tasuku returns alone to his apartment suite, a barren, empty thing, he realizes just how cold it is without Jack.

There is never anyone to greet him. There never has been for four years. But with Jack, there is life in this room he has called home. With Jack, there’s the light of company that staves off the deathly silence of solitude. They speak as family would, talking about this and that, what happened in the news the other day, the successful arrest of yet another criminal fighter, what to have for dinner that night and the night after…

But Jack isn’t here.

_Jack was taken away from Tasuku by those people, those sneering, corrupted pigs who could barely be considered men, and yet Tasuku could do nothing about it._

_Tasuku was helpless._

Tasuku is helpless.

* * *

_The car rumbled through the night, its inhabitants completely silent. He clung stubbornly to his core deck case the entire way back, clung desperately to Jack’s card._

_For the first time in his life, Tasuku dreaded the approach of the Buddy Police tower._

_Nobari and Shidou were there to “greet” them. With malice thinly veiled behind his loathsome grin, Nobari held his hand out expectantly and ordered for the confiscation of Tasuku’s deck and Buddy._

_He held on as tightly as he could, as long as he could—Takihara, Stella, and Commander I argued his case to the best of their ability as Tasuku stood behind them, overwhelming numbness trickling through his entire being—but all it did was draw out the outcome._

_Tasuku handed his deck over first. And then Jack—his only family._

_He hated the look in Takihara’s and Stella’s eyes then. He didn’t hate the people themselves—the only people who had dared to stand up for him in this cesspool of corruption—but he hated that he had induced that look from them._

_That detestable, deplorable look that one would give to a lost and helpless child, was now directed at Tasuku._

_Tasuku hated himself._

* * *

Takihara and Stella promise, as they see him off, to check in on him when they’re free and do what they can to reverse Nobari’s decision. Tasuku doesn’t keep his hopes up. He definitely doesn’t resent them for not showing up for days on end. Adults have little time to spare for a helpless child, and Tasuku knows this.

The days following his dismissal from the Buddy Police are hard and painful. Without Jack’s Buddy skill, getting to school is not the exhilarating joy ride it always is. Instead, it becomes a listless and arduous trek through crowded streets that Tasuku feels like he barely knows. He’s very nearly late on the first day, Tasuku having underestimated the distance, and the drone of his homeroom teacher sounds muffled and far away.

No one at school knows.

His teachers, his classmates—all of them still think he’s the Boy Wonder Cop. All of them still think he’s the brave hero who has saved countless of lives and protected civilians.

Nothing changes. No one approaches him. No one dares to approach the great Ryuenji Tasuku, the prodigal Buddyfighter whose partnership with Jack is legendary; who has yet to let a criminal escape.

What would they do if they knew?

Tasuku is afraid to find out.

_He was afraid to reach out to others, to be nothing at all like what they expected him to be. He was afraid of betraying their expectations. He was afraid of their disappointment. He was afraid of how they would look at him when they realized that beneath his confident facade, he was nothing._

So he remains alone and isolated, even among the very people he protects.

* * *

The month crawls by and another worry begins to gnaw at him.

Before long, Tasuku will be unable to afford to live on his own.

He still has savings, and has already begun cutting back on food and electricity. But what will become of him once he runs out? Will he starve to death? No one will hire a 13 year-old boy, regardless of his reputation.

The only reason Tasuku was employed in the Buddy Police was because of his incredible aptitude for Buddyfighting and his Buddy contract with the powerful Jackknife Dragon.

Without Jack, he’s nothing.

Without the Future Force, he’s nothing.

He’s just a powerless child.

* * *

The boy he recognizes as Kisaragi Zanya from Aibou Academy lands before him one day and for a split second, Tasuku feels gut-wrenching envy at the sight of boy and Buddy.

He demands to know why Tasuku hasn’t been doing anything. Why, in the advent of the spread of the enigmatic black core deck cases and the stealing of Buddy monsters by the “Grim Reaper”, the Boy Wonder Cop has yet to appear on the scene.

Tasuku can barely bring himself to say anything. Zanya looks at him expectantly. Expectations, expectations, expectations. Tasuku can’t meet them. He can’t meet them anymore.

So he brushes past Zanya, his fringe covering his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do anything.”

And Zanya lashes out.

 _“This_ is the Boy Wonder Cop?!”

Tasuku can understand. He can understand Zanya’s frustrations. After all, Tasuku feels them tenfold.

But it still hurts.

It hurts so much. Zanya’s words cut into him like a cold knife. The aggression in his voice sounds more like betrayal. Perhaps he’s one of the many fans that looked up to Tasuku.

One of the many fans that Tasuku has betrayed.

“If you won’t do anything, then _I_ will!”

Tasuku whirls around at these words but Zanya is already flying away, without even a glance back, and Tasuku feels his gut tying itself into a tight knot.

* * *

When school lets out, it is raining.

It is raining when Tasuku walks down the streets alone. Many have taken shelter from the storm already, but Tasuku’s home is still at least an hour’s walk away.

He suddenly feels really tired.

The rain batters him like icy needles and Zanya’s tirade still rings loud and clear in his head. Weighed down by a sense of crushing hopelessness, Tasuku stumbles beneath a solid fence with an overhanging ledge and sinks to the ground, hugging his knees close to him for warmth. It is a pathetic facsimile of the warmth another presence would give him, and the ledge barely shelters him from the rain.

He doesn’t care right now.

Tasuku doesn’t have the strength to walk anymore.

He closes his eyes and presses his face into his knees and ignores the cold, the wetness, the dark clouds hanging overhead. He ignores the rumbling of a car nearby that draws closer, ignores the sound of a car door opening and someone stepping out, ignores the footsteps drawing closer.

Tasuku doesn’t realize the man is before him until a shadow falls over him. He looks up listlessly and sees a large figure in sunglasses and a black suit.

“Gaen Kyoya wishes to see you.”

The words barely register but the man is already walking back to the car—the limo, Tasuku realizes that it’s a _limo_ that’s parked right in front of him—and sidles into the seat. He looks at Tasuku, as if waiting for him to follow.

Tasuku wonders, briefly, whether this is a trap, and then realizes he has nothing to lose anyway. He stands sluggishly and follows the man into the limo and he’s driven away.

* * *

The grand manor that spreads before him is one of Kyoya’s many estates. Tasuku is escorted up the stairs and into a large office, where the young scion sits behind a desk. They have met once, it was at the yacht, but Kyoya looks strangely different here. There is no twinkle in his eye, no humour. He only stares at Tasuku, intentions masked behind a veil that Tasuku can’t see past. Tasuku stands awkwardly, focusing on a particularly interesting spot on the immaculate wall as he tries not to think about how his sopping wet hair and clothes drip and soak into a rug that’s probably more expensive than his entire apartment unit.

He doesn’t know what to say. But Kyoya saves him the effort.

“I’ve heard rumours that you were let go by the Buddy Police…”

Tasuku tenses at the words. They are spoken with a sense of sympathy, and Tasuku can feel Kyoya’s crimson eyes on him, but he refuses to raise his head. “Rumours are rumours,” Tasuku says, and he only realizes how hard he’s gripping his school bag when he sees how white his knuckles are.

 “They’re not rumours, are they?”

Kyoya’s voice is serious and cuts through the heavy atmosphere like a knife. The charming smile he had worn at the yacht is completely absent now and the gravity on his face is almost palpable. “You’ve had everything stripped from you. Now that the Buddy Police has milked you for your worth, you’ve been tossed aside like a chipped tool.”

Tasuku continues to look away, unable to face the truth. Unable to face Kyoya. But Kyoya gets up and circles around the desk, walking closer and closer.

“We’re a lot alike, you and I.” He pauses, as if to let the words hang in the air before they begin sinking in. “I want to help society… I want to protect it from the corruption you’ve been forced to withstand.”

The words finally inspire Tasuku to lift his head, and he looks at Kyoya sadly. For the first time, vulnerability leaks through.

“So why did you call me here?” But that moment lasts only for a second, and Tasuku looks away again. “It’s like you said. Everything was taken from me. I don’t have anything left. I’m just…”

Zanya’s words sound in his mind again and it’s like a blade twisting in his gut. “I’m just me. I can’t do anything.”

But Kyoya only smiles.

“Yes, you can. You’re brilliant and determined… You’re still a prodigy within the Buddyfight world. And I can give you back everything you’ve lost. I can polish you and give you strength again.

“I’ll be your only friend, even if the world has turned against you.”

He holds out his hand out to Tasuku and it’s the most inviting, warm gesture that Tasuku has seen in a month and he reaches out for it in turn, only to stop half way. The better part of him _knows_ there has to be a catch. Why would someone with so much power bother with a child that has none?

He looks up at Kyoya, a twinge of suspicion in his eyes. “What’s the catch? I find it odd that you knew where to find me… And how are you expecting me to do anything without my deck? Without Jack?”

As if expecting such a question, Kyoya smiles without skipping a beat.

“A catch? It doesn’t work like that. As comrades, I’ll provide you with everything you need. A new deck, new Buddy… Money is not an issue.”

“All I ask,” he continues. “Is that we work together to stop the corrupted adults. Please, Tasuku-kun… I _need_ you.”

Those words. It is those words that ultimately convince him. He wants to feel needed. He wants to have the power to protect again, to be able to fight and right wrongs, to be able to save people.

~~As if having such a thing would make up for him not being able to save his family.~~

Desperation blinds Tasuku and he takes Kyoya’s extended hand. From that moment on, Ryuenji Tasuku disappears from the world.

* * *

Two weeks pass before someone recognizes that Tasuku’s extended absence at school is abnormal.

It’s another week before the absence is reported to the Buddy Police.

Takihara and Stella and Commander I are frantic with worry, but Nobari has a tight hold on their metaphorical leashes. Corruption has taken root in their chain of command and with so little lee-way to search, they can do nothing but wait in trepidation for any leads.

* * *

_Though the food laid before him was a grand feast fit for a king, and though Tasuku had barely eaten for the past few days, he couldn’t gather up the appetite to take a single bite._

_Gaen Kyoya sat directly across from him, the epitome of poised. Half-lidded eyes watched Tasuku intently._

_“Not hungry?”_

_Tasuku was quiet before lifting his head._

_“What exactly are you going to have me do?” A pause as he let the question hang in the air. “I can’t do anything without a deck and they took Jack away from me.”_

_His response was a lofty chuckle. “Patience. I’m gathering more people for our cause… The time to act hasn’t come yet.”_

_Apparently sensing Tasuku’s dissatisfaction with the answer, Kyoya continued. “In the meantime… I’ll have you test out a new power that rivals even your Future Force. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Disaster Force?”_

_“Disaster Force…? No, I haven’t heard of it…”_

_Kyoya smiled. Reaching into his pocket, he procured a grey core deck case, and slit it across the table to where Tasuku sat._

_Tasuku’s eyes widened. He stood so quickly that he nearly knocked his chair over._

_“One of those black core deck cases…?!” And without a doubt, the same ones that Wolf and Yamazaki Davide had used. “Why do you have this?! Don’t tell me you’ve been the one distributing them?!”_

_In spite of Tasuku’s clear agitation, Kyoya’s smile remained unchanged. Always so poised, always so perfect. “Yes. My company has produced these. It’s my dream to further Buddyfight as a game, after all…_

_“But of course… You’ve heard about criminals using these for evils, correct?”_

_The smooth smile faded and Kyoya leaned forward. Rather than a pampered heir, he wore the grave expression of a young man with the world on his shoulders. The burning desire for change blazed in his eyes; the same eyes that had swayed Tasuku and sucked him in._

_“Already, you can see that my visionary has been abused by this society. But you… You won’t use this for your own selfish deeds, will you?”_

_Tasuku’s eyes drifted from Kyoya’s face to the dark core. The eye-like gem seemed to stare back at him._

_He swallowed thickly, feeling his heart pounding against his chest._

_“…No. I wouldn’t……”_

_And just like that, Kyoya’s smile was back._

_“Good… Then I’m entrusting you with it, and the deck inside. I want you to learn it inside out… And after some arrangements, surely you’ll be able to get your Jack back.”_

_“Jack…”_

_His instincts screamed at him to reject it, to push it away, but the desire to see Jack again, to reclaim his own place in a society that had spat him out so unfairly overwhelmed the better part of him._

_Slowly, Tasuku reached out and closed a hand over the cold dark core._

* * *

It’s been a month since then.

And in that month, Tasuku has come to realize that there is something seriously wrong.

He has changed. He’s grown colder, more repressed, numb. What once burned as a passionate flare to bring criminals to justice has metamorphosed into a desire to _crush,_ to smite such people into nothing. He knows it’s wrong. His heart of hearts tells him so.

But that righteous part of him is being smothered somehow. Every time he questions, every time he doubts, the doubts are quashed. He thinks nothing of it—he’s grown used to it. But there are times when he is alone—when is he _not_ alone?—that he recognizes that something is seriously, seriously wrong.

~~He’s scared.~~

Childish pride stops him from reaching out. Childish pride makes him keep the dark core close to him, even though he suspects it's the culprit of his straying thoughts. Because it's what Kyoya told him to do. Kyoya…is right. Kyoya has to be right. Because Tasuku has thrown everything away for those ideals. They have to be right.

He can’t be wrong. He can’t make mistakes. He has to be the saviour that everyone has built him up to be.

Tormented by conflicted thoughts, Tasuku curls up on his bed and presses his hands over his ears as if that would deafen him to the traitorous thoughts and doubts that linger in the back of his mind.

At his bedside, the dark core glows a faint, ominous purple.


End file.
